Press Release Article

PORT AUTHORITY TO OPEN LIBERTY STREET BRIDGE ANNEX AT WTC SITE ON THURSDAY, APRIL 22

Date: Apr 21, 2010Press Release Number: 19-2010

The Port Authority will open a new Liberty Street Bridge annex that will connect Battery Park City with the eastern side of Route 9A at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, April 22. The annex opening will allow work to proceed on a critical World Trade Center project.

Once the bridge annex is opened, excavation work will begin for the Vehicle Security Center, which will be the primary entrance to the underground parking and delivery areas at the World Trade Center complex. The existing portion of the bridge that extends from the eastern side of West Street down Liberty Street will be closed when the annex opens.

Work on the Vehicle Security Center began last year with the installation of 27 concrete panels that will form the foundation for the western half of the VSC. A wall separating the western and eastern halves of the site also was installed to allow work to continue on the western half of the project while the tower at 130 Liberty Street is deconstructed.

The bridge annex will allow pedestrians to cross Route 9A from Battery Park City and exit the bridge in front of 90 West Street. From that point, they can walk south to Albany Street and from there, to points east such as Washington Street, Greenwich Street, Church Street and Broadway. Pedestrian managers will be stationed along the route, along with signs to assist pedestrians with the new route, should they need it.

CONTACT:

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Steve Coleman, 212 435-7777

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates many of the busiest and most important transportation links in the region. They include John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, Stewart International and Teterboro airports; AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark; the George Washington Bridge and Bus Station; the Lincoln and Holland tunnels; the three bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey; the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) rapid-transit system; Port Newark; the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal; the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island; the Port Authority Auto Marine Terminal; the Brooklyn Piers/Red Hook Container Terminal; and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. The agency also owns the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan and is a partner in the Access to the Region's Core tunnel project.